FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

Other places in the Philippines have their own version of this cassava-based delicacy. In most parts of Western Visayas, this native delicacy is called alupe (or alupi). It is made with ground balinghoy (cassava) mixed with coconut milk and meat plus sugar and other flavorings. It is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. What looks like an unappetizing mixture before (steaming) becomes a pleasure to both the sense of smell and taste as it results to a flavourful snack that would surely bring back memories. Or will surely make one for those tasting it for the first time. Now only if it ain't that sticky and messy to eat!

A favorite of many Ilonggos, ginat-an nga tambo is heaven to them and fans of Ilonggo cuisine. With coconut milk and greens like saluyot, takway and okra plus subak like shrimps or crabs – this would automatically induce a lot of cravings.  Especially when you’re abroad where raw ingredients are often hard to find and if they are luckily available, it still doesn’t taste like the one you might have grown up with. Even so, it is more than enough one's craving for this Ilonggo cuisine, no matter where you are in the world. Here's a recipe for Ginat-an nga Tambo

Bujawi (budjawi, budyawi) is what Ilonggos refer to the fruit of the buri or century palm tree . Abundant in many parts of the province of Iloilo, the buri has many many uses from the leaves to its trunk. It produces a fermented drink (tuba), alcohol, vinegar, syrup, and sugar. The trunk yields large quantities of starch. The bud (ubod) is used for salad or as a vegetable. The kernels of the young fruits are edible and are made into a sweetmeats. The mature seeds are used for beads? (rosaries) and buttons.  The petiole yields so-called buntal fiber of which, the famous Baliuag and Lucban hats are made, or which, when crudely extracted, is sometimes twisted into rope. Mature leaf is used for covering tobacco bales, rarely as a thatch for houses, while the ribs are used for making brooms. From the unopened leaf is obtained a very fine fiber, corresponding to raffia fiber, which is utilized in making cloth, fancy articles, and as string. Fibers secu

Kusahos is my favorite way of enjoying beef. it is basically sun-dried beef strips marinated adobo style - that is with vinegar, garlic and soy sauce, among others. After an overnight marination, it is then sun-dried for a few days - watch for flies as this is a fly-magnet! The drier it becomes, the better tasting it will become. It is then deep fried or at time placed directly over charcoal, for a crunchy-lious local beef gastronomic experience.  Here's the recipe for Kusahos

People unfamiliar with these would often mistakenly refer to tambis as makopa  - for its shape and color are almost identical. That's until you you see it up close and bite into its flesh. Tambis has a smoother skin, tends to be more translucent and a lot juicier. On the other hand,  mangkopa  ( makopa ) has a more velvety skin, more opaque and is drier. Both come from the same  genus  -  syzygium  and just differs on the  specie  -  aqueum ,  samarangense  or  malaccense . I really cannot point out which is which though... It was one rainy Saturday afternoon while having a meeting at Camiña Balay nga Bato in Arevalo that I curiously gazed outside the window. It was a tambi s tree teeming with its fruits - lots of it. And before I knew, we were served this basket of tambis which appreciatively devoured... It brought a lot of memories then - of afternoons climbing our neighbours tambis tree, of having a tambis party, and even experimenting if tambis would yield

Tak what?  Takway is what Ilonggos refer to the part of the gabi plant that grows sideways , termed as tendrils. When scraped off of its outer skin and thoroughly cleaned, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the  ginat-an dish consisting   of the gabi tendrils and tubers with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon .  Spicy Takway Adobo It is sold in local wet markets or in groceries (like SM here in Iloilo) already cleaned, packed and ready to be cooked. And the most popular takway dish is adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . Local restaurants like Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine and the buffet offering at Camiña Balay nga Bato offers inadobo nga takway . Takway sold in the groceries Cooking adobo nga takway is like cooking the usual adobo - and there are a hundred and one ways to do it. If you have an adobo recipe you are frequently using, just substitute pork/chicken or kangkong

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region. Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of  batwan  and the  malinamnam na sabaw . One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with this recipe. Ingredients 1.5 kilos Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED  then sliced into bite size pieces  1/2 to 3/4 kilo unripe Jackfruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit  (or tamarind powder) 1

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home.  A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ".  Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Amidst the fireworks and revelries, food ushers in the new year with the traditional  media noche . So what's on our table welcoming New Year 2024? Our media noche has always been a light to heavy snack. It isn’t like a fiesta fare that comes with rice and lots of meat dishes.  So check out our fare welcoming 2024…  Always present is the HAM. Be it the sliced pork ham (Chinese-style) or whole chicken hamonado. Another staple is a PASTA DISH but this time it was create your own. Linguine pasta with tuna-tomato, pork tomato, tuna, olive pil and pesto as sauce choices with Parmesan cheese. Something new was the pepperoni QUESADILLA to give our media noche some Mexican flair. Also some NACHOS to create some texture and flavor with its spicy cheese and creamy spinach dips. Another staple is QUESO DE BOLA - perfect for that ham & cheese sandwich. Adding carbo is the BAM-I mixed wit pork, seafood and veggies. The one I really gorged on was the PANCIT MOLO with the dumplings from ready